Berkeley County, SC Ordinances (2026)

Berkeley County lets LED and electronic message boards operate along its arterial road overlay corridors only if brightness adjusts automatically and copy holds for at least eight…

Within Berkeley County's arterial road overlay corridors, window signage is folded into the wall-sign limit: combined wall and window coverage can't exceed 20 percent of the wall it's…

Berkeley County limits buildings in its R1 single-family district to "less than 40 feet to the highest part of the structure." Chimneys, antennas, church spires and flagpoles are…

Berkeley County caps impervious surface in its R1 single-family district at 50 percent of the lot. That single-line standard in section 5.1.10 covers the house, driveway, patio, and…

In Berkeley County's R1 single-family district, front, side and rear setbacks scale with lot size, from 35 feet up front on a full 14,000-square-foot lot down to 20 feet on the…

Berkeley County Code § 23.3.1 makes it unlawful to let grass, weeds, or undergrowth accumulate on any lot, occupied or vacant, when the buildup harms neighbors' health or property. The…

Berkeley County requires a permit before removing any protected or specimen tree within a required bufferyard in the unincorporated county. Section 17.8 makes unpermitted removal a…

Anyone installing a driveway, fence, sign, landscaping or utility line in a county-maintained easement or right-of-way must first get an encroachment permit from the Berkeley County…

Berkeley County imposes a uniform 2 percent local accommodations fee on gross proceeds from renting any accommodations to transients countywide. Providers collect it from guests and…

Unincorporated Berkeley County protects farmland through the Flex1 agricultural zoning district, which favors crop, livestock and forestry uses over dense residential build-out…

Berkeley County's agricultural zoning districts carry a nuisance disclaimer telling residents to expect noise, dust, odors, aircraft, manure handling and chemical spraying from working…

Berkeley County confines sexually oriented businesses to HI heavy-industrial zoning and requires an annual regulatory license, with a 1,000-foot buffer from schools, churches, parks…

Berkeley County flatly bans auto repair as a home occupation in the unincorporated county: any repair, rental, sale or assembly of vehicles or small engines is a prohibited use under §…

Berkeley County Code Sec. 8-4(a) makes it unlawful for an owner to let a pet run at large on any street, highway, or property besides the owner's own, and Sec. 8-4(b) requires a leash…

Berkeley County Code Sec. 8-5(a) bars anyone from harboring or owning a wild animal, defined by Sec. 8-1 to include bears, big cats over 30 pounds, wolves, foxes and coyotes, raccoons…

Berkeley County does not order every pet cat spayed or neutered, but Sec. 8-7(j) lets a cat live as a lawful 'free-roaming cat' outside the county's normal at-large rules only if it is…

Berkeley County allows up to eight hens as a conditional use on residential lots of 10,000+ square feet, but bans roosters over three months old and requires a predator-proof coop set…

Berkeley County Code Sec. 11-62 ties every project to the county's Stormwater Drainage Ordinance and sets a sodding floor for new residential construction: front and side yards must be…

In special flood hazard areas with base flood elevation data, Berkeley County requires new construction and substantial improvements to elevate the lowest floor at least two feet above…

Berkeley County requires a floodplain development permit before any construction begins in a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area, under Chapter 26 of the county code. New residential…

Berkeley County's Stormwater Management Ordinance, sections 65-981 through 65-1052, controls drainage, erosion and pollutant discharge from construction and developed land across the…

Berkeley County requires a plumbing permit under Berkeley County Code of Ordinances Sec. 11-88 for any fixture, water heater, drain-waste-vent system, water-piping work, or sewer…

Berkeley County Code Sec. 11-64 bars any work covered by the adopted technical codes from starting until the permitting department issues a valid permit, and the permit card must then…

Berkeley County enforces the 2020 National Electrical Code by reference under Sec. 11-31 and charges a flat $45.00 electrical permit fee for service up to 200 amps under Sec. 11-86…

Berkeley County Code Sec. 8-1 classifies a pet that 'barks, whines, howls, screeches, or crows' excessively and disturbs neighbors' peace as a 'public disturbance,' and Sec. 8-2(o)…

Berkeley County's noise ordinance names radios, televisions, and loudspeakers as a prohibited noise category whenever the sound becomes excessive or unusually loud enough to disturb…

Berkeley County limits construction, repair, demolition and alteration noise to 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekends, with an exception for urgent…

Berkeley County's noise ordinance sets normal residential noise to the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. under County Code § 38-1(g), so household noise outside that window is weighed…

Berkeley County treats vehicle exhaust noise and vehicle defects as a listed category of prohibited noise under its general noise ordinance. Officers weigh volume, time of day, and…

Berkeley County flatly bans dumping refuse, litter or pet waste on public or private property, in the street, or into any part of the storm drain system. Violators face a civil fine of…

Commercial loading docks and dumpsters along Berkeley County's arterial road corridors must be screened from arterial traffic view under County Code of Ordinances § 10.3.5(G), one line…

In unincorporated Berkeley County, refuse haulers must be permitted allocated collectors, and every collector has to publish its pickup schedule in a countywide newspaper so residents…

Berkeley County treats home occupations as a conditional accessory use in the unincorporated area, never a stand-alone business. Article 11.9.1 caps the operation at 25 percent of the…

Berkeley County zoning allows a family day care home as an accessory use to a residential dwelling only, capped at six children and staffed solely by the resident, under County Code of…

Berkeley County limits home occupation client traffic in the unincorporated area: visits are allowed only from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the business cannot generate more than ten…

Berkeley County bars any visible sign of a home-based business from the street or a neighboring lot, which rules out exterior signage advertising a home occupation in the…

Berkeley County lets homeowners store a licensed RV or boat trailer on a residential lot in the unincorporated county but bans any unlicensed one outdoors, and forbids living in a…

Berkeley County bans parking heavy trucks and tractor-trailers on small residential lots: any truck over a two-ton load capacity or 10,000 pounds tare weight is barred from lots under…

Berkeley County's public officer can declare a vehicle a nuisance under County Code § 23.4.1 when it meets the state's definition of an abandoned or derelict motor vehicle in S.C. Code…

In Berkeley County's R1 single-family district, a shed, garage or other accessory structure may only go in the rear or side yard, at least five feet from the side or rear property…

Berkeley County's zoning ordinance caps a garage apartment or guesthouse at 25 percent of the main home's heated square footage, up to 850 square feet, and lets residents build one as…

Berkeley County requires intensive animal production operations to keep grain and feed in rodentproof containers and clean up spillage promptly, under County Code of Ordinances §…

Off-street parking lot lighting in Berkeley County's arterial overlay corridors must be shielded or directed away from adjoining residences and produce no glare across residential…

Berkeley County bans loitering at every public boat landing it operates, alongside disorderly conduct, loud music and public intoxication. The Sheriff's Office and Code Enforcement…

Between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., Berkeley County bars, clubs, stores, and beer parlors licensed for on-premises drinking cannot sell, serve, or allow alcohol consumption, and patrons…

Berkeley County requires anyone peddling, hawking, or soliciting door-to-door to hold an annual license under Chapter 12 of the county code. Fees run $25 to $100 depending on where the…

Berkeley County has no year-round duty to report a leak, but once its water authority declares a severe or extreme drought phase, a customer who gets a ten-day notice to repair a leak…

Berkeley County's public officer can declare a dwelling unfit for human habitation under County Code § 23.5.1 when dilapidation, fire hazards, or unsanitary conditions threaten…

Berkeley County bans camping on any public property it owns or maintains, from streets and parking lots to parks and creek beds, unless the county specifically permits it within a…

Berkeley County's zoning ordinance says outright that the county has no power to enforce a homeowners' association's own covenants and restrictions. If a neighbor violates a CC&R, an…

Berkeley County only requires a building permit for fences built of solid masonry or solid steel that reach six feet or more in height, per Sec. 11-94 of the county code. Wood…

Berkeley County will not sign off a swimming pool's final inspection until its safety barrier meets the International Building Code, per Sec. 11-90 of the county code. The rule applies…

Berkeley County requires a building permit for any in-ground pool and for aboveground pools four feet or taller under Sec. 11-90 of the county code. Residential permits cost a flat…

Berkeley County's peddler and solicitor licensing chapter does not reach vendors selling inside an officially designated festival area under Sec. 12-29(3), so long as a charitable or…

Any parade of 50 or more people in unincorporated Berkeley County needs a Sheriff-issued permit under Chapter 40. Applications are due 3 to 30 days ahead, parades can only run 8:00…